I have to agree with what others have said about preferring a thin-walled porcelain gaiwan for brewing many (most) of my favorite oolongs. Quite a few yrs in, and quite a few $ spent, I now really only use my Yixing pots for dark roasted TGY / Yancha, and the (very occasional) aged pu. But at least I still get much joy from displaying them!

NOESIS wrote:I have to agree with what others have said about preferring a thin-walled porcelain gaiwan for brewing many (most) of my favorite oolongs. Quite a few yrs in, and quite a few $ spent, I now really only use my Yixing pots for dark roasted TGY / Yancha, and the (very occasional) aged pu. But at least I still get much joy from displaying them!

Nothing wrong with a gaiwan but for greener oolong teas, but I have many pots which I prefer more than a gaiwan. Some of them are not even Yixing!

NOESIS wrote:I have to agree with what others have said about preferring a thin-walled porcelain gaiwan for brewing many (most) of my favorite oolongs. Quite a few yrs in, and quite a few $ spent, I now really only use my Yixing pots for dark roasted TGY / Yancha, and the (very occasional) aged pu. But at least I still get much joy from displaying them!

Nothing wrong with a gaiwan but for greener oolong teas, but I have many pots which I prefer more than a gaiwan. Some of them are not even Yixing!

Not to get off topic, but I definitely prefer unglazed sado or tokoname clay pots for Japanese greens. Concerning oolongs that I drink on a fairly regular basis (light-medium oxid/roast gao shan and dancong), I find them to be more up-front and aromatic, less "rounded" brewed in a porcelain gaiwan.

NOESIS wrote:I have to agree with what others have said about preferring a thin-walled porcelain gaiwan for brewing many (most) of my favorite oolongs. Quite a few yrs in, and quite a few $ spent, I now really only use my Yixing pots for dark roasted TGY / Yancha, and the (very occasional) aged pu. But at least I still get much joy from displaying them!

Nothing wrong with a gaiwan but for greener oolong teas, but I have many pots which I prefer more than a gaiwan. Some of them are not even Yixing!

Not to get off topic, but I definitely prefer unglazed sado or tokoname clay pots for Japanese greens. Concerning oolongs that I drink on a fairly regular basis (light-medium oxid/roast gao shan and dancong), I find them to be more up-front and aromatic, less "rounded" brewed in a porcelain gaiwan.

This is where the magic of an appropriate pot steps in. If I may say this, that the best pot will be better than the best gaiwan in most cases. The difficulty is to find that pot.

I would have assumed your pot was duan ni until I read Jing's description that it was mixed. For what it's worth, Hojo's opinion of duanni clay is very poor. He says it mutes both taste and aroma as opposed to red or purple clays. Of course, this needs to be tested out to see if it is true or not. Have you tested the pot against other clays? Sometimes there are surprising results waiting.

The teapot from sample tea came. It seems to have generally good workmanship besides the spout being little lower than the handle and lid. It is a dark brick red/orange/purple. I'm about to brew up some da hong pao I have because I can't wait to use it, but when the teamaster pot comes and jing teas arrive I'll compare them with those and see which is better for wuyi's.

Exempt wrote:The teapot from sample tea came. It seems to have generally good workmanship besides the spout being little lower than the handle and lid. It is a dark brick red/orange/purple. I'm about to brew up some da hong pao I have because I can't wait to use it, but when the teamaster pot comes and jing teas arrive I'll compare them with those and see which is better for wuyi's.

Hope you boiled/seasoned it first?

Having the spout lower than the handle and lid is supposed to prevent dribbling from around the lid, although all of my pots have spouts higher than the handles.

Exempt wrote:The teapot from sample tea came. It seems to have generally good workmanship besides the spout being little lower than the handle and lid. It is a dark brick red/orange/purple. I'm about to brew up some da hong pao I have because I can't wait to use it, but when the teamaster pot comes and jing teas arrive I'll compare them with those and see which is better for wuyi's.

Hope you boiled/seasoned it first?

Having the spout lower than the handle and lid is supposed to prevent dribbling from around the lid, although all of my pots have spouts higher than the handles.

Yes I boiled and seasoned it first. And I was unaware of the lowers spout, I though it showed lower craftsmanship. Thanks for informing me